Healthy and handy freezer friendly meals to get you through pregnancy and beyond

By Bio Island Nutrition Team

Having a baby is one of the most exciting and stressful times of a person’s life. There is so much to organise for the upcoming arrival of a new addition that it’s easy to forget that the everyday chores still need to be done, and this includes cooking dinner. One of the best methods of making this job easier each night is by meal-prepping and freezing portions or whole dinners so that you are only busy cooking one or two days per week. Below are some quick and healthy freezer friendly meals that will help you get through your pregnancy journey and leave more time to plan for the arrival of the newest addition to your family.  

Firstly, below are some important tips to consider before freezing your meals:

• Temperature: Freeze all foods at or below 0° to retain vitamin content, colour, texture, and flavour.
• Undercook your vegetables: when cooking a recipe that has vegetables, cook them so they are slightly crunchy. When it comes time to reheat the meal the vegetables will have better texture.
• Consider your containers: use a mixture of containers to freeze meals such as airtight glass containers, foil trays, and zip lock bags. When deciding what container to use, think about how you will be cooking the meal as this will help you choose. For example, if you plan to microwave the meal from frozen a glass container would be a good choice.
• Consider your portions. Before freezing, consider how you wish to portion your meals out once you defrost them, this will help you to decide how to portion out the meals to make it easier when defrosting.

Pesto Chicken Penne Casserole

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Servings: 12

Ingredients

6 cups cubed chicken, cooked

1 ½ cups of milk

1 packet of penne pasta

425g jar of pesto sauce

425g jar of alfredo sauce

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

4 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups fresh baby spinach

425g can crushed tomatoes

1.2 cup bread crumbs

Method

Step 1. Grease a 9x13inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan and olive oil and set aside. If your chicken is still raw you should cook it this step, cut it into cubes and set aside.

Step 2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat and stir in the penne, cooking on high for approximately 11 minutes or as directed on the packet. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Step 3. In a medium bowl combine the chicken, Italian cheese blend, alfredo sauce, pesto sauce, milk, and tomatoes. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. Fill the greased baking dish with the pasta and sauce mixture and top with the bread crumb mixture.

Step 4. Cover the casserole dish in glad wrap and store in the freezer for up to six months. Once ready to heat up, remove from the freezer and once defrosted Bake for 40-45 minutes at 175°C until golden brown on top.

Indian Dahl with Spinach

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes 

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 ½ cups red lentils

3 ½ cups water

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon chilli powder

1 onion, chopped

½ cup coconut milk

4 cups spinach, washed and roughly chopped

Method

Step 1. Rinse the lentils thoroughly and soak in a medium bowl.

Step 2. In a large pot, bring the water to boil and add the lentils, salt, turmeric, and chilli powder. Cover and bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes until the lentils are soft. 

Step 3. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter, add the onion, cumin and mustard seeds and stir until softened and transparent. Add the onions to the lentils, stir in the garam masala and coconut milk and cook until heated through.

Step 4. Let the dahl cool and then either freeze in a freezer-safe container or divide out into smaller portions so you have individual servings on hand. The dahl can be frozen for up to six months. When you wish to serve, take out of the freezer and let the dahl defrost, then either heat up in the microwave or the stove until heated through.

Rustic Tortellini Soup

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes 

Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 Italian turkey sausages, casings removed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

6 cups chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 500g jar pasta sauce

1 425g can of crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 ½ teaspoons of sugar

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 packet (roughly 625g) of fresh tortellini

Shredded parmesan cheese, optional

Method

Step 1. Heat a medium saucepan over high heat and add some oil into the pan. Transfer the sausages and onions into the pan and cook until the sausage is no longer pink, and the onion is translucent. Break the sausage up until is crumbles like mince. Add in the garlic and pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the broth, crushed tomatoes, pasta sauce, tomato paste, basil, vinegar, parsley flakes, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

Step 2. Add tortellini and cook uncovered until tortellini are tender or according to the directions on the packaging.

Step 3. Let the tortellini soup cool, and then place into a freezer-safe container or section out into smaller containers or airtight freezer bags.

Step 4. When you are ready to serve, take out of the freezer and let the soup defrost. Once defrosted heat up in the microwave or over a stovetop until heated through. Serve with parmesan cheese. Soup can be kept in the freezer for up to six months.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strudels

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes 

Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

250g thinly sliced leg ham

6 sheets Fillo pastry

½ cup butter, melted

¼ cup dry breadcrumbs

Topping

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Method

Step 1.  In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium high heat. Stir in the flour until smooth and gradually add milk. Bring mixture to the boil and stir consistently for 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in cheeses and salt.

Step 2. In a large non-stick skillet melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Add eggs to pan, cook and stir until almost set. Stir in the ham and the cheese sauce and heat through. Remove from the heat.

Step 3. Place one sheet of Fillo pastry on the kitchen bench (keep the remaining pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out). Brush with melted butter. Spoon ½ cup of filling onto Fillo, about 5cm from a short side. Fold side and edges over filling and roll up. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining Fillo, butter, breadcrumbs and filling.

Step 4. After topping strudels with cheese and parsley, freeze unbaked on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet until firm. Transfer to a freezer container or individual freezer bags.

Step 5. When you are ready to eat, preheat oven to 190°C. Take the strudels out of the freezer and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each strudel with 1 teaspoon of cheese and 1 teaspoon of parsley. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and golden brown. Serve immediately.

This information does not take into account your personal situation and is general in nature. You should consider whether the information is appropriate for your needs and seek professional medical advice.

Always consult your healthcare professional before taking any supplements or if any concerns arise.